six days from now pope benedict will step down. then it will be time for the cardinals to elect a new pope, and some american cardinals who will be heading to the conclave suddenly find themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. nbc's anne thompson with us tonight, once again from the vatican with this story. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. as pope benedict finishes his lenten retreat, the vatican is preparing for this historic transition. with many questions, such as who will lead the church, far from answered. a week before pope benedict retires, and there is still no clear front-runner to succeed him. however, there is a long shot. new york's cardinal timothy dolan. >> i'll do anything to get you guys in church. >> reporter: praised in catholic circles for his persona. his efforts to revitalize the church and fighting the obama administration's contraception coverage mandate. but this week, dolan was deposed about how he dealt with abusive priests as archbishop of milwaukee. what impact is this